Work Text:
Wild’s Hyrule was evil, Legend decided, as he sat inside the Hebra stable huddled against Hyrule for warmth. A few days back the latest portal had dropped them face first into a pile of snow, and left them stranded on a mountain with little to no protection. After a terrible day spent trudging through a blizzard, they finally reached the Hebra stable, where they were now residing until they were all recovered enough to get back out onto the road. Wild had thankfully had enough potions and gear to keep them alive, but that didn’t prevent them from sustaining injuries, or in some cases- nearly freezing.
Wind, who was used to the warm tropical weather of Outset, did not fare well in the snow. About three hours in he ended up on Twilight's back, huddled against the others wolf pelt. He had warmed up now, but he was still shivering violently and cussing out the snow falling from the sky.
Sky had been attacked by a lizalfos around five hours after they arrived, earning a nasty gash on his arm- he had a potion already, but he still needed rest after losing blood.
And Wild…was in a terrible mood.
No one really knew why, but shortly after arriving in his Hyrule, the champion had gone nearly dead silent, and stayed that way for most of their journey. Now, he kept shooting everyone the occasional glare, as he fiddled with his slate. They were all sitting around a small fire, though not much conversation was being held. Mostly because every time someone spoke, Wild would twitch and scowl.
Legend was sick of it, to be honest. He was cold, hungry, and tired. Everyone was annoyed, but that didn’t give Wild an excuse to look at them as though they had personally wronged him. Not that Legend was exactly one to judge.
“Hey Wild, what crawled up your ass and died.” He cut through the silence, ignoring the harsh looks several of the chain shot at him. Wind and Four both snickered into their hands, much to his amusement.
Wild didn’t reply to him, in fact he didn’t even look up from his slate. Legend’s brow raised at this, but he didn’t provoke the champion further. He wasn’t in the mood for a fight today, and he wasn’t in the mood for a bottle of goron spice in his dinner.
“Alright cool.” he mumbled to himself, before falling silent again.
It was then that Wild finally moved. Legend glanced up at him as he did, watching as he slowly began to move towards the stable owner. They watched in silence as he cheerfully spoke to the man behind the counter, who laughed and called for a stable hand to fetch a horse. Moments later, Epona came waltzing out from behind the stable, and Wild hopped on.
This finally broke Twilight out of whatever trance they were all in, and he made to stand up. “Hey, wait where are you-”
Wild didn’t even look back as he spurred Epona forward, riding off in some random direction.
They all stared at where he had just been, jaws slightly open.
“Did, did he just!” Twilight sputtered, confusion and sight anger seeping into his tone.
“What…?”
“Who's going after him?”
Legend turned to Sky, who had asked the last question, placing a finger on his nose. “Not it.” He replied, grinning. One by one they all followed suit, leaving only Time and Twilight.
“Honestly…I don't think anyone should.” Time spoke up, confusing all of them. That was not what Legend was expecting him to say.
“But-!” Twilight began to protest, stopping as Time held a hand up.
“Im worried too, but none of us know this Hyrule like he does, and these conditions are terrible. He wasn’t taken unwillingly, he just…left.” Time looked a little confused at the thought, before continuing. “Normally I would say we go after him, but it's too dangerous. If he’s not back by morning we can search, but in this storm, it’s not wise.”
Twilight groaned, burying his head in his hands, mumbling something about Wild being an idiot. Legend wholeheartedly agreed with this, and clapped the other on the back. “He’ll be fine, don’t worry.”
Wild did not return in an hour. Or the next.
At this point, Legend began to worry. He knew it was senseless, to some degree. Wild was a knight, he knew this Hyrule like the back of his hand, and he was strong. But Legend knew what it was like to get a hothead and disappear. He knew what happened when you let your emotions dictate you, he had lived that. Hylia, he had lived it last week.
His thoughts travelled to an ocean and a boat, and a boy desperate to run away from his own thoughts. A boy who was so hurt, and angry, who decided to run as far as he could in an attempt to finally feel something other than whitehot anger.
He shivered, though it wasn’t entirely from the cold. Wild would be fine, he assured himself, as he gazed across the fire at Twilight, who had a grimace on his face.
There was nothing they could do now but wait.
It wasn’t until hours later that Wild reappeared in the stable, covered in both red and black blood. By now, the others had retreated inside, but Legend had stayed. The fire was warm, warmer than it would be within the stable, and someone had to wait for Wild. Twilight had hesitated to head in, but ultimately Wind's pleas for further warmth in his bed had swayed him.
“Hey Legend, I'm back!” Wild waved cheerfully, too cheerfully for Legends liking.
“Where the fuck have you been?” Legend shouted, rounding on him. Wild instinctively took a step back, putting his hands up in front of him.
“Woah, relax. I was clearing this area out, there’s a nasty lynel down there and I-”
“You ran off on your own to fight a lynel?! Without telling anyone?”
Seriously, did this kid have a death wish?
“Epona knew.” He replied, scratching the back of his neck nervously.
“Epona is a horse.”
Wild sighed, running a hand through his blood streaked hair. “Ok, sorry I guess. It’s fine though. I’m fine, the lynel is gone. I'm gonna go start dinner now.” An excuse. An opening to leave, without discussing the real problem at hand.
He made to walk away, but was stopped when Legend grabbed his arm. “Oh no, you’re not getting out of this that easily. What the hell were you thinking?”
Wild's sheepish demeanor faltered at this, as he pulled Legend away from him.
“Back off.” He muttered, shoving past him.
“You always do this, you know! You’re on a team, so act like it!”
Wild turned at that, glaring. “Stay out of my business!"
“It’s everyone’s business now, if you die, that's on our hands!"
“No, it’s not! If I want to leave for a bit, that's my choice!
The others had heard their shouting at this point, and began to exit the stable, looking between the two in concern.
“You know what, you’re right. It is your choice. Go bleed out alone because you’re too arrogant to tell anyone where you’re going.”
“Arrogant?” Wild shrieked, stepping closer to Legend, who stood his ground. “This isn’t about arrogance, Legend. I think you forgot, I was alone for my journey. I didn't have a fairy or a magical sword.” he was fuming at this point, glaring at Time and Sky as he spoke, which Legend thought was unfair. They had nothing to do with this. “And I was fine. F-I-N-E. You think I can’t handle being alone for a bit?”
Legend rolled his eyes, “Hylia, save me. No, Wild. I think you are very capable, but that doesn’t mean you can just up and leave and not tell us anything!”
“Right, I forgot no one here values basic privacy.”
Legend's jaw dropped a little at that, as he glared at him. Was he being serious? Wild himself had various secrets Legend knew Twilight was protecting, and at least three of them were protecting Twilight's secret. No one forced anyone to talk unless they were comfortable, at least not after the first few incidents where they had.
“You cannot be serious right now.”
“Dead.” Wild spat back, fist clenched.
“Yknow what, fine. Do what you want Wild, I don't care. But I will not be the one who tells Flora how her her knight stupidly died, again .
It was a low blow, and Legend regretted it the moment it came out of his mouth, but he couldn’t stop himself. He kept looking at the blood drying into the champion's hair, the cold steely look in his eyes, and he couldn’t help himself. He wanted to upset Wild, he needed him to realize why Legend was so upset- but he couldn’t bring himself to just get the words out normally. To tell him that he was worried, that he couldn’t handle losing someone else he loves. Legend despised this part of himself, the part that resorted to petty and belittling comments, to shield himself from truly having to express himself.
Wild yelled something Legend didn’t quite catch, possibly in a different language, before punching him in the nose.
“Oh you little-!” He glared at the champion, wiping the blood that was now flowing from his nose, and growling. “You are so dead! ”
He flung himself at the other, punching wildly, getting a few hits on Wild's cheek, before being thrown to the other side. “Fuck…you!” Wild panted, kicking at Legends side.
Legend twisted, avoiding another kick, and threw himself up towards Wild. It was dirty, but he grabbed the others hair, ignoring a sharp yelp, and threw him down. He panted, wiping at his nose again, “Are you done?” he ground out, glaring down at him.
Wild staggered to his feet, clutching his head, and Legend winced when he saw the blood again. Did he just make a head injury worse? He prayed it was monster blood.
Wild didn't grace him with a response, and opted to lunge at Legends legs.
There was shouting from the others, but it sounded muffled in Legends ears, due to the rush of the fight. He didn't want to fight Wild, not seriously, but he had to admit it was sort of exhilarating. The way the champion fought was sporadic, and unpredictable- a real challenge.
Legend hit the ground with a loud, “oomph!” and Wild continued to punch at him, gasping out incoherent insults as he did.
Legend heard Warriors and Twilight shouting louder now, as he punched Wid under the jaw, knocking him off.
Turning over, he managed to get another hit on the champion, this one drawing blood as his ring dug into the other's skin.
“Stop, please stop it!” He heard Hyrule cry, as Wind cheered for Legend.
“Wild, enough!”
It didn’t stop them though, as Wild lunged once more.
“Im-Im gonna-!” He gasped, flailing uselessly at Legend.
“Gonna what?” Legend growled shoving him away, prompting him to stagger back and fall to the ground.
Wild didn’t respond, struggling to his feet once more. Legend's anger began to ebb as he got a good look at his brother, who was shaking and covered in blood.
“Both of you, enough!” Warriors shouted, and Legend spared a glance at him.
“Alright, c'mon Wild, let's stop this now. You look pathetic, I dont want to-”
Wild growled, jumping at him again.
“Seriously?” Legend shrieked, dodging him. “Do you know when to stop?”
“No!”
Legend growled to himself, dodging Wild once more. Fine, if he wasn’t going to cool off, Legend was going to have to make him.
He grabbed Wild by the front of the tunic, not managing to avoid another hit to the face, and somewhat violently threw him towards Warriors. He watched as Wild stumbled towards the older one, trying to balance himself enough to get away. He was too slow though, and Warriors leapt towards him, grabbing him by the arms and pulling him into his chest.
“Wild, stop it!” Warriors yelled, as Wild shouted and struggled in his grip.
“No! No im not done-!”
“Yes, you are!” Warriors ground out, his grip on the other tightening as he sat on the ground. “Stop fighting, this won’t solve anything!”
Hyrule rushed past the two of them at that point, dashing towards Legend. “Your nose! Here, let me-” Legend put a hand up, and Hyrule faltered.
“No, no magic. It’s fine.”
“At least use a potion!” Hyrule protested, shoving it into Legends hands. He glanced down at it, and tried to give it back.
“Im not gonna waste-”
Hyrule gave him a stern look, shoving it back into his hands. “It’s not a waste. Drink it.”
Legend sighed, but gave in. He knew that look, and knew Hyrule would force feed it to him if he didn’t drink it himself. He took a few sips before handing it back, and Hyrule nodded, clearly satisfied.
“What about Wild, he looks like he might need one.” He risked a glance at the champion, who was still shaking in Warriors lap, dead silent with his hands over his eyes.
Hyrule glanced at them too, worry evident on his face. “I…think he might need some space. I’ll give it to him once he’s a bit more calm.”
Legend sighed and nodded, before looking around. His eyes caught Twilights, who jerked his head towards him. A clear sign for, come here. He frowned, turning to Hyrule.
“I’ll be back. If I die, you can have my sword.” He muttered, and Hyrule playfully smacked him on the arm.
———————
Warriors glanced down at the boy in his arms, carding his hand through his hair. He methodically pulled a few tangles apart, grimacing as he felt the dried blood beneath his fingers. He really needed to figure out how the blood got in it, and if it was Wilds blood, but he didn’t risk moving him too much just yet.
“What was that all about champ?” he hummed out, his hand finally stilling. Wild's shaking had finally subsided, so he figured now was a good time to bite. Scolding would do very little in this situation, most likely only provoking the younger one further- so he settled for a softer tone. He was a commanding officer, yes, but he was gentle with his soldiers when necessary. He knew about the horrors of war, the memories brought with it. He had seen plenty of men lash out before, their emotions overtaking their senses. Once someone got in that state of mind, it was hard to snap out of it.
Wild was still in his arms, his hands still covering his eyes. Warriors sighed, his grip around the other loosening, as he brought both hands away. He was pleased when Wild didn’t immediately snap up and lunge towards Legend, who was across the clearing talking to Twilight. Reaching out, he softly grasped the others hands, gently prying them away. Wild didn’t protest, which was both a blessing and a worry. With the hands out of the way, he was finally able to get a good look at the champion's tear streaked face, anger still clouding his expression.
So maybe he hadn't calmed down quite as much as Warriors had hoped.
“None of your buisness.” He spat out, not for the first time that day.
“But it is my business now, seeing as it involves me and our companions.”
Wild scowled at him, sitting up further. Warriors hands returned to the champions arms, keeping him in place. Wild made to shove them off, but abandoned the movement halfway through, opting to slump against him.
“You don't have to restrain me.” He mumbled. Warriors raised an eyebrow, glancing down at him before looking away once more.
“Will you promise me you won't attack anyone?”
Wild sighed, “yes.”
“And if you do, you understand I will have to retaliate, yes?”
“Yes.”
Warriors hummed, letting go once more. “Okay then. Let's talk about this reasonably, hm?”
He felt Wild nod against his chest, and he felt himself relax as well.
“What was that all about?” He parroted his question from earlier.
“I-” Wild swallowed, turning his head further into Warriors chest. “I want to talk to Twilight.”
"Twilight's busy right now. Sorry kid, you’re stuck with me.”
There was an incomprehensible mutter, and a soft sigh. When Wild didn’t respond again, Warriors brought his hands back to the hair. Okay, another strategy then.
“Your hair’s quite the mess, mind if I fix it up a little?”
Wild hummed, answering with a quiet “do whatever”.
Warriors smiled down at him, thanking him, and began pulling the tougher knots out. Without his brush and water to get the blood out, he couldn’t do exactly what he desired to. But he was able to detangle as much as he could with his hands, hopefully relieving the champion slightly. Warriors himself never had long hair, but his sister and Zelda had complained to him plenty of times about the pains of tangles. They said they were heavy and uncomfortable, and often came to him for help in getting the tougher ones out. When his sister was younger she despised brushes, and would cry and cry anytime their mother attempted to brush heavy tangles out of her hair. She would retreat to her and Link's room with tears falling down her cheeks, sniffling about the evils of hairbrushes. Link would laugh at her, plop her down onto his lap, and comb through it. He was reminded of his little sister as he brushed through his little brother's hair, and he found himself smiling. He led his hands through the blonde hair, scanning for injuries around the areas with the most blood. There weren’t any, to Warriors relief.
“There’s so much blood…” he mumbled to himself, hoping to get a response from the other, and was pleased when he did.
“Mfine now…” Wild murmured, piquing Warriors interest.
“Now? So you weren't before?” He glanced down at Wild's face, which got slightly more red at that comment.
“W-well! I…had a potion.”
Warriors chuckled a little, pulling at another tangle. “You know, the vet is right, you are too reckless sometimes.”
Wild moved at that, causing Warriors to roughly pull at the knot. Wild winced, bringing a hand up to the back of his head.
“You aren’t going to drop this, huh?”
“Well, you did just break Legend's nose, so I am a little concerned.”
Wild looked around the camp at that, concern evident in his face. “I did? I didn’t think…I’m sorry…”
Warriors shook his head, ruffling the champions hair. “I don't think I'm the one you should be apologizing to.”
“Right , your right, I’ll-”
“A-tata! Nope! Not yet, you stay right here.” Warriors interjected as Wild moved to get to his feet. The other stopped moving, turning to face him, looking far more tired than he had before.
“Give it a minute. Get your bearings, calm down, and then we can talk to him.”
“He started it, you know!” Wild retorted back, some of the earlier anger returning. Warriors sighed.
“I never said he didn’t. But did you have to punch him?”
“He made fun of- of!” Wild stammered out, his hands flying together as he began to nervously pick at them.
Warriors winced at that, he had heard exactly what Legend had said. It was low, but still, Wild shouldn’t have resorted to violence.
“I know Wild, and that was not okay. I’ll make sure he apologizes for it. But we can’t just attack each other when we get upset. We need to stick together.”
“He started it…” Wild mumbled again, looking down at the ground.
“Did he though?”
“What? Yes! He- he cornered me as soon as I got back, and just! Ugh!” Wild threw his hands up, burying his face in them once again. Warriors sighed, Hylia have mercy on him. Teenagers.
“Legend shouldn’t have been rude to you Wild, and I'm sorry he was. But you know he’s just worried. We all are, really. You left with no warning, after a day of near silence, and came back covered in blood. He, we, don't want to see you hurt. We can’t help you if you don’t tell us what’s wrong champ.”
Wild twitched, but didn’t lower his hands.
“I just…” he whispered, and Warriors had to strain to hear him. “I get so angry sometimes, you know?” he laughed a little, but it was weak and strained.
Warriors didn’t press him, giving him the time to figure out his words. Wild lowered his hands, his eyes watering once more. Warriors started working on the knots again.
“And before, there was no one. I didnt…have anyone to talk to. I guess Sidon and Riju were there, but I couldn’t burden them with my…” he choked “my failures.”
Warriors hummed, pulling at the final tangle in the knot. He moved onto the next one.
“No one would understand, not really. Impa might have, but…something in me told me not to talk to her about it. So I didn't. I kept going, because I had to. But sometimes, I would look at that castle, or at my reflection and I…”
A shaky inhale, and another tangle pulled out.
“I just got so angry. I left her there. And something deep inside me, something I don’t even understand, is just so…so angry. I think I must have been, before. But I don't know, I don’t know who I was, and that hurts, so much.”
The knot came undone, and Warriors moved to another one, this one bigger than the rest.
“I was alone. So when I got upset, I just…left. I would abandon whatever mission I was on, and selfishly, stupidly, I would run to the nearest monster camp and fight until the anger died down.” Wild sniffled, wiping at his face. “I know what I did today was stupid but I just. I needed to be alone. And no one here understands that!” His voice was raising slightly, his breathing a little faster. Warriors continued to gently detangle his hair, muttering assurances as he did.
“Sometimes I need to be alone. Sometimes I just, I just need to run off for a bit. I'm not a child, I'm not stupid! I can take care of myself, I've been doing that my whole life, even before I…before-” He cut his sentence short, just as Warriors finished pulling out the last knot. He ran his fingers through Wild’s hair, content with his work. It was smoother now, less knotted, but there were still some bumps from the blood. Nothing a little water and care wont fix.
“Wild” He started, still combing his hair. “No one here thinks you are incapable, or unintelligent. I think you are an incredible fighter, and one of the most amazing survivalists I have ever met. You know more about machinery than I could dream of knowing.”
“Then why can I never just be alone!”
“It’s not that we don't trust you Wild, but it’s safer that way. We worry about you. You aren’t alone anymore. I know you aren’t used to this, and there's a learning curve, but you have us now. We will listen to you, we will understand, and we will look out for you.”
Wild sniffled, burying his head into Warriors chest. Warriors laughed a little, ruffling his hair. “And listen, next time you feel that anger, tell someone. If you need to let some steam off, let us know where you’re going, and for how long. You can’t just disappear like that, I think you nearly gave Legend and Twilight heart attacks.”
“Really?” Wild mumbled, sniffling again.
“Really.”
“Thanks Wars.” He sighed, leaning back again. “And uh, I'm sorry about all that…”
“No worries. I'm here when you need to talk, okay?”
Wild nodded, wiping his eyes.
“Alright, why don’t we get dinner started. I’ll help you.”
“You? Cook? I don't know Wars, I don't think anyone’s in the mood to be poisoned tonight.”
Warriors gasped in mock hurt, placing a hand over his heart. “I am a wonderful cook, thank you!”
Wild laughed, hauling himself to his feet, and reaching a hand down to Warriors. He gladly accepted it, and the two made their way to the cooking pot, where Twilight and Legend sat.
“Uhm hey.” Wild ground out, staring at the ground. Warriors patted him on the back, encouraging him.
“You a’right Wild?” Twilight glanced at him in concern, and Legend was pointedly not looking towards the two of them.
Wild nodded, wringing his hands together again. “I, uh. I’m gonna cook dinner now.”
Twilight moved over, giving him space to sit down, and Warriors watched as Wild sat dejectedly. He started fishing ingredients out of his slate, and Twilight put an arm around him.
“Whatcha gonna make?”
Wild hummed, pulling out some mushrooms. “Mushroom and meat skewers I think.”
Legends favorite, Warriors noticed with amusement, as he sat next to the veteran. Legends' ears perked at this, but he still didn’t meet Wild's eyes.
“Uh. I..” Wild started, but quickly snapped his mouth shut.
“Oh just spit it out.” Legend snapped back, finally turning towards him. Warriors groaned and slapped his forehead as he watched Wild's expression shift to one of anger again.
“You’re sorry, I'm sorry, we're both sorry. Let's just eat dinner and forget it.”
Wild blinked at him, before a little smile worked its way onto his face.
“Yeah, okay, let's do that. I am sorry though, I shouldn’t have attacked you.”
“It’s fine…I shouldn’t have provoked you.”
They smiled at each other, both nodding their heads, and Wild returned to cooking. Warriors let his shoulders drop, meeting Twilight's eyes, who looked equally relieved.
And as they all sat around the fire, the snow finally began to slow, as the storm began to die down.